Sugar Village's Tale
by Haike
Summary: Jack came from a city boy down to a farmer in one day, all because of his dad's request. He thought that he only needed to take care of the farm half-heartedly and then went back. But the more time he spent with that people around town and learned of the village's tale, he began to have doubt of his initial thought. And a girl who made him think farming wasn't all bad...
1. Jack's quest

Something small I wanted to write. Though I said small, this is gonna be a long story. Harvest moon was one of the earliest, non-violent games that I got hooked when I was young. Never finished any of them, but I've always advanced far enough through the storyline to know what the heck is going on.

**This is about the version "_Hero of Leaf_ Valley"**** on PSP. **I bolded it so no one would get confused with other versions :P

Anyway, here ya go! And oh, looking for beta read if you're interested in the story.

I don't own Harvest Moon.

* * *

It was a quiet one, the farm.

Jack looked around as he set his foot in the farm. There was a large open field in front of a small house, with an old well stood beside it. A dog house sat right next to the house indicated the previous owner used to have a dog with him, only it was broken down after some many years of being left unattended.

To be true, the previous owner was his grandfather. The reason for Jack to be here today was to pick up some stuff left by him after he had passed away few years ago. Just only last month, his father sent him a letter, telling to go back to the farm and get some stuff. What stuff? He did not inform him. He only said once Jack got there, he would know what kind of "stuff" it was.

So Jack advanced deeper into the farm and found the barn. For a city boy, he hardly ever saw a barn before, and the one on TVs didn't count! He remembered the first time that he saw it; it was years ago, when he and his parents took a trip to visit grandfather. Oddly, he never recalled of his grandpa's face, or how nice of a man he was, since he was so young back then. The closest things the Jack had ever known of him were usually through his dad's tales about him.

He entered the barn. It was old, alright. The smell was strong, but not the kind of "animal waste" strong. It was because of the wet wood in there. There were spider webs all over the place: on the ceiling, in the corners, and in the haystack dispenser. Being left alone for so many years, no wonder had come to this.

He exited and inspected around a bit. Jack came into the chicken coop, but there was not much to it so he decided to go back out. There was only the house left, so he went for it.

Surprisingly, the interior was extremely clean! It was free of dust and webs. The bed was neatly made, and the coffee table was nice and clean, as if somebody had been keeping a close eye on it. A bookshelf in the corner, a TV faced the table, and a clothes drawer to the left side of the house. It was somewhat odd and shocking to Jack, but that was before he found an envelope on the table.

_To Jack_, it said. Though it was his name, he was still unsure that whether he should open it or not, because he did not even know his grandpa's name! What if someone left it there as some kind of memento? But what if it was something that was for Jack?

_Maybe I should open it… If it is for my grandpa, then I'll say I mistook it for my name._

He carefully lifted the glued part so that it wouldn't tear, finally he gained access to the letter inside. He took a peek.

_Well, to be short, it's your father, Jack. If you find this letter I guess you could say that my quest for you has already begun. You see, the farm was left unattended for long enough already, and I guess that you've seen the damage. Right now, I can see that you've just lost your job in the city, and don't you try to fool your old man ever again. Mother and I know that far too long already._

_Now for the reason that I sent you here, Mom and I just wanted you to find some place that you can get your head off from the stress that you've been carrying, so we thought that would be a good idea to send you here. The townspeople are nice, so I'm sure that they wouldn't mind having a new guy in their village. Maybe you can even find a wife there! Your mother's been going on and on about having a grandchild. But that is not the reason that I, personally, want you to be there._

_My quest to you is, simple: Restore the farm back to the way it used to be. I bet that would be a pain for you, since you've been studying agriculture during you college years, am I right? If you encounter any problem, just ask around town, and I'm sure you would be fine._

_Good luck in the next few years!_

_Sincerely, _

_Your mom and dad._

"What the hell, dad?" Jack sighed and dropped the letter on the table. "Is it not enough for me to lose my job, now you're going to throw this farm at me?" He stood around silently to look around the room. Finally, he exited the house, thinking in his head that he would go back to the city and made things clear with his dad.

* * *

_**Chapter 1 - End**_

It's gonna be a Gwen and Jack fic, but I don't Gwen will make her appearance until a bit later in the story, but don't worry too much, it won't be far!


	2. Refusal, refusal, refusal

Just as Jack was about to leave the farm, he spotted something from the corner of his eyes. There were three small creatures talking to each other. They were dressed in blue, red, and yellow. Curious, he approached them and grabbed one of them by the head.

"Hey! What? Eeek!" The small creature in his hand screamed out in fear and broke away from Jack's grasp and hid behind his also small companions' back.

"Are you guys… real?" Jack was confused, of course. "I mean, how? But… you?"

"H-he can see us! Eeek!" the three shouted simultaneously and ran past between Jack's legs. "Run for your life!"

"Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!" Jack tried to explain to the trio, but it seemed that his words were in vain. The three creatures were too scared of him to listen. So he chased after them.

After a while, Jack found himself was cornering them against the doghouse. The three hid inside it with the three of them trying their best to hide behind each other's back.

"C'mon, you guys, I don't mean no harm," Jack pleaded with them, but still unsure that he should stick his arm inside it. What if they bite?

"H-help! Goddess! Please, help us!" The yellow and also the biggest one yelled out, trying to call someone for help.

Seeing the distraught trio would not listen to him, Jack let out a defeating sigh and stood back up. He took a step back and folded his arms, eyes looking at the doghouse.

_What are these guys? Gnomes?_

"May I ask what trouble have you caused to my sprites?" From behind him, a feminine voice spoke out. Startled, he turned around to find a beautiful woman.

She was in a long dress, despite the hot sun of morning. Her shoulder-length hair fell down behind her looked almost as smooth as silk, as they possessed the color of violet. Her genuine expression as she asked her question somehow dumbfounded Jack. She was an extremely pretty woman, perhaps a few years older than him. But what caught him off guard the most was not her kind voice, but the two alien objects sticking out from her back: a pair of butterfly wings.

"Uh… I…" he stuttered. "Well…" he reached for the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Suddenly, he could see the three little creatures had escaped from the doghouse and was running towards the woman. They hid behind her. "Hey!"

"Harvest Goddess! Who is this stranger? Why can he see us?" The three of them shouted in fear.

"It's okay, guys," she turned around, kneeling down to get closer to the creatures. "If he can see you, I don't think he means any harm,"

"Um, I'm still here," Jack said, feeling annoyed.

"My apology," she turned to Jack, smiling. "My sprites here were scared by your sudden appearance. You see, the farm has been left unattended for quite a while, so seeing someone here is a very extraordinary experience to them. Please, forgive them,"

"No… it's fine," she was just too honest, Jack had to go down with her. "But… why? How? I mean… you guys aren't real,"

"No, no. We are very real, although only a few are capable to see us. If you can see us, that means you are something… special," she informed him, which made Jack curious about this matter. "I am the Harvest Goddess of this land, and my duty is look watch over it and make sure it is well maintained,"

"Sure…" he spoke in disbelief. Sure, a city boy like him could believe in such fairy tale.

"These are my sprites. Their job is to assist me in looking over this land," she motioned her hand at the 'gnomes'. "Introduce yourselves, guys,"

"I'm Nac," the red one spoke in confident. "This here's Flak," he pointed at the yellow one, also the biggest one of the three. " and that is Nic," the remaining blue guy.

"Your grandfather was a nice man. He was also the owner of the most nourished farm I have ever seen in my years of being the Goddess. Until he passed away, it was in such a great shape," the 'Goddess' spoke.

"You know my grandpa?" He questioned, suspecting that she might know more than just this.

"As you can see, the farm is not as good as it was in its golden days, but nevertheless, it is still salvageable. Since you also inherit your grandfather's ability, I am here by resting this farm upon your care,"

"Oh, come on, not you too!" Jack exclaimed. "I can't do this, I don't even know how to water a plant, what do you expect me to do?"

"Please, help us," the blue sprite came up hesitantly. "You must help us, or the town will be taken away!"

"Yeah, there are these 'bad people' who are scheming on this town to turn it into some kind of Funland," the yellow one said.

"You must help us, or the people here will lose their homes," and the red one added.

"Look, sobbing story, really. But as much as I want to help, I can't," he lied. Not a single bit of him wanted to stick around in this broken down farm. He didn't know how his grandfather did it, but to him, the farm looked pretty much dead by now. Now his own dad and this self-proclaimed goddess were trying to force him into attending this farm. No way he'd do it. Besides, he had to go back to the city to look for a new job. "Guys, honestly, I cannot,"

"Please!" the three exclaimed.

He bit his teeth in awkwardness and looked around for an escape route. He shook his head shyly again to make his point of not wanting to stay. After a few seconds, he said: "I'm sorry, I have to go now," and left.

"Harvest Goddess, please! Do something!"

"This matter is beyond my power," she spoke disappointingly. "His wish is not here, I cannot force him into doing it,"

"But… the town…"

"I know, but it is simply impossible now," she said quietly. Sighing, the Harvest Goddess disappeared.

* * *

**_Chapter 2 - End_**

* * *

There we go! I try to limit each chapter to the minimum so that it won't become so wordy, although this can be changed in the future. Then again, that is whether or not I want to continue this story or not :P

Stay tuned anway!


	3. What a dad!

"This goddamn town has no service," he grumbled and shoved his phone angrily back into his pants. He was walking the dirt road now, trying to find someone who had a phone, or at least something he can use to communicate to his dad. Jack was serious. Seriously pissed off. He was to get things straight with his dad now.

He caught a kid was running around with an insect net. He stopped him and asked for direction.

"You're new around here, bro? The only phone we have is over at the Sunny Garden Café, but you also know what?"

"What?" Jack asked.

"They have some amazing milk over there, and I heard from somewhere that they also offer alcohol at night, but it only for adult, wish I was an adult, but you know what? Bob told me that I will be an adult soon, he also say that a man is demonstrated through his actions and his will, not his age. Hah, I bet I'm already grown up, but everyone just doesn't realize it yet, and you know…"

"Yeah, I got it thanks," he cut the kid off. "Where is this café you told me?"

"Oh, you only have to walk straight down that way and turn left, it should be in your view,"

"Thanks, kid," he stood straight up again. "I'll repay you afterward,"

"Okay, bro, you said so," he waved and smiled at Jack's departure.

* * *

"Welcome guest, how was your day?" A cheerful, pretty girl in a pink dress greeted Jack as he entered the café. She was holding a small plastic tray in her arm as she bowed down respectfully to him, which embarrassed him a little. "Where would you like your table to be at?"

"Uh, no please. I just wanted to use the phone," Jack told her.

"it's right at the bar, please," she still had her radiant smile across her face. She was so innocent looking and happy that it almost dimmed the anger in Jack's stomach. "follow me,"

She showed him the telephone, which looked like from the late 80s. This girl smiled at an old man who was tending the bar. They looked to be grandpa and grandchild. After saying a thank you, Jack eyed her a moment before picking up the phone and started dialing.

_-hello?-_

"Dad? It's me, Jack. We need to talk,"

-_Jack, my boy. How do you like my little present?-_

"Are you kidding? Dad, this isn't funny, you know I can't stay here,"

-_no, I know you can stay there, and you will under any circumstances-_

"Are you forcing me?"

_-no, I'm telling you to stay, besides, you can't leave-_

"What do you mean by that?" he was about to raised his voice now.

_-well, about that, you will figure it out by yourself soon enough. For now, stay, and learn how to farm, because that is going to be your job for the next few years. I thought I told you this in my letter, didn't I?-_

"Dad, this isn't funny…"

_ -it's not supposed to be. Mom and I think that it's gonna be easy for you. You've always been the working type anyway, this is nothing for you. Just try and apply those agricultural stuff that you had from your university, and it's gonna be just fine-_

"I can't! How many times do I have to say it?" he noticed the old man had had hhis attention on him now, and the girl was staring at him. "Look, I need to get back to the city and find myself a new job. Will that please you?"

_-well, no. Staying there is your only choice now. Besides, it's not all that bad. Though the farm needs some fixing but don't sweat about it. Just go and ask Bob, the bulky guy. You'll know when you find him. Anyway, it's not that bad, I saw the town had some very pretty gals. Maybe you'll 'snatch' one, eh? You mom's been waiting to become a grandmother for a while, you know-_

"Dad, please…"

_-I've gotta go now. Hear me, stay and farm, that's all I have to tell you. Alright? Good luck!- click_

"Dammit…" he cursed quietly under his breath.

"Things don't go well with your old man, I presume?" the old man at the bar said. He was listening to the entire conversation. Obviously since Jack was raising his voice.

"No, " Jack replied. "Do you know when is the nearest ride to catch to the city?"

"That one has just left this morning, I'm afraid. The next one won't be back until next month, I think," he was scratching his head under his red beret. "Do you know, Katie?"

"I think so, too," the girl who now known as Katie spoke. "They only stopped by each month for some deliveries," she paused, trying to see if she had mistaken. "Nope, by next month is their next trip,"

Jack's jaw dropped. "Just my luck…"

"Hey, young man. Mind if this old man poke into your business?"

"Grandpa!" Katie exclaimed. "Don't you see he's pretty beaten up?"

"Come now, Katie. The man is very upset, we should ask if we can help. Besides, let this old man have some chatting with the new customer. It's not every day we have people from the city here," he was reassuring his granddaughter.

"Nah, it's fine, really. It just…" Jack sighed, and felt rude for not accepting his sympathy. "Thanks for the phone call. I appreciate it,"

"No problem, youngster. Anytime," the old man said. "The name is Wallace by the way, that over there is my granddaughter, Katie,"

"Hi," she bowed down again. "Nice to meet you,"

"My name's Jack, nice to meet you guys, too,"

"Well, hi, Jack. Just make yourself at home here in this café. We always welcome newcomers," he turned to Katie. "Get him something to drink,"

"No thanks, but I'm fine. Besides, I've got something to take care of. Other time, perhaps," Jack declined the offer and stood up. "Thank you, again,"

Wallace _tched_. "No need. Just ask whenever you need something else," the kind old man laughed and waved goodbye at Jack.

"He sure seem like nice," Katie remarked.

"He is, though temper is needed to be looked at," Wallace smiled and it faded. "I just wish that we had more time to greet more nice guys like him,"

"Oh," Katie's voice got quiet as her eyes went to the floor beneath her feet. "I heard they're coming here soon,"

"They are, but just for inspection," he shrugged, feeling powerless. "Anyway, you should not worry about it too much,"

"Yeah…"

* * *

_**Chapter 3- End**_

* * *

I think that's all for tonight. I need to sleep! D: How do you enjoy the story do far? I know it's not much as of right now, but please do give feedbacks, they help a lot in making a better writer. Grammar? Plot-wise anything :P

Stay tuned!


	4. A job

The sun was dropping behind the hills from afar; the town had descended into its peaceful sleep again tonight. The birds had stopped their chirping and the butterflies had removed their presence from the view, replaced by the dusky, fluttering flashes of the fireflies. The normally quietness of the village was disturbed by the occasional sound of cricket rubbing their forewings together. Defeated and tired, Jack decided to head back to where he believed earlier this day that he was going to run away from.

The farm was as still as ever. With darkness now its companion, it soon became an eerie scenery; a silent, obscure location that had not been taken care of by anyone for years. It was hard for Jack, or even for any stranger to have a look at this place and could still imagine it used to have better days. For the most parts, the place was a ruin, maybe the house was an exception. He thought of giving his dad some gratitude for at least helping him tidy up the place. Then again, if not because him, Jack would have been sleeping in his own room by now…

It was a surprise to Jack that the electricity was still functioning. At the least his luck wasn't rotten, Jack thought. If he was to stay in this God-forsaken place, having something to charge his cellphone might actually pull him through this situation, although now he could only use it for playing games now. Killing time while waiting for his 'salvation' to come, he reckoned.

"Only one month," he heard himself saying as Jack proceeded towards the bed and dropped down.

He shifted himself uncomfortably before realizing this was not his 'city-class' bed. It was not as soft, or even anywhere close to being soft. It was a hard, filled with springs, piece of cloth, which was made to appear to look like a bed. Furthermore, it produced a creaking noise whenever he made a slightest movement. Jack took a glance at his wristwatch and amazed how the time was only seven PM. But he reckoned that for it being in the countryside, artificial lighting and sounds were nowhere to be found, and that would explain the early arrival of the night.

It did not impact him until now that money was going to be a problem for him. He realized that he didn't have much money on him when he decided to come here, as he never thought that he would have to spend more time than he should here.

The crickets insisted on their chirpings, carrying on the isolation. Exhaustion came to his eyes and Jack decided to leave the problematic matter to tomorrow. Perhaps he could find a job somewhere in this town. He thought of helping out at the café. Wallace seemed like a nice old man, plus the bonus that his granddaughter was a very cute girl. What was her name again? Katie, was it?

The clock ticked away slowly deeper into the night. His eyelids fell heavily as Jack drifted himself off to the land of dreams.

* * *

It was around past dawn Jack awoke. His back felt ache and numbness ran through the left side of his body. Never before in his life had Jack known about the experience of sleeping on a rock. Detaching himself from the bed, he parted the window curtain, letting the first ray of sunlight to pour in and brighten up the house. He greeted the new day with a long, dreadful sigh as he knew he was still a long way from home.

Jack croaked as he pushed open the old wooden door to find the three sprites from yesterday sitting quietly in line in front of the house. Their eyes lit with hope as Jack came into their view, but died shortly after as they saw he wasn't about to take interest into them. He could hear their little feet following him behind as he reached for the water in the nearby well to wash his face. Until he was done and already prepared to set out, Jack could still feel their weak, depressing presence behind him. He was about to turn and say something to them, but instead, he shook his head and decided to abandon the idea.

Jack left, the three creatures was still on the farm, gazing in silence.

* * *

Jack passed the giant platform which he believed to be the center of the village. Since the season was Spring, the whole area was surrounded by the greenish color of the trees, proving the still robustness, which contradicted to the usual lack of liveliness throughout the entire area.

Jack revisited his thought of finding a job in this village. Though now he had become the new successor of his grandpa's farm, his ignorance blinded him. He was not going to work on that place. He had never been the farming type. The fact that he had some agricultural knowledge was also a mistake. Jack only took the class because his father had kept on pushing him, and that there was one extra place in his schedule anyway. This made him to think: Did his father have planned for this?

Ignorant he was but Jack was not stupid, he also knew he needed to survive through this month in order to get back to the city. He thought of the café and settled to go there.

* * *

"Young Jack, though you're very nice guy and all, but I can't hire you," Wallace replied to Jack when he asked about working there. "My café is a small place. Though having more people would be nice, but I don't think we need more than just Katie and I,"

"No, it's okay, I understand," Jack said in disappointment. Now that he noticed, Katie was nowhere to be found. She probably still sleeping, or had gone out to somewhere, Jack reckoned. Jack sat on the stool and sipped the glass of water Wallace had offered him. "Do you happen to know where I could find a job?"

"Since you're staying on the farm, why not consider farming?" Wallace raised a brow. He had overheard Jack's conversation with his dad yesterday.

"Well, things… aren't exactly like that,"

"Well, then," the old man paused, rubbing his chin with his fingers then continued: "I think you could try asking Bob, the big young man who own the Starling Ranch. Just take a left when you're out, keeping walking and you should see it. Hard to miss it,"

Bob. The named rang a familiar bell in his head. It was also the same name Jack's dad told him about on the phone yesterday. "Thank you," Jack said, putting down some change he had in his pocket as a way to say thank Wallace, but the old man refused. He then left.

* * *

Upfront, the dairy farm which Wallace told him about seemed to be in a much better shape than his grandfather's farm. A chicken coop was packed with hens and the animals could be seen from afar. Jack hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door. But before his fist could land, the door swung open, and revealed to Jack a man, who he thought, even now still, scary.

He was a bulky, big, and tall man like his father and Wallace had described. His tanned skin resulted to years of staying outdoor to take care of his animals, and his muscular figured was the evidence of a hardworking man. Bob was wearing a tight tank top, which revealed a large tattoo on his left arm, also with a pair of baggy jeans and black boots. The rope he had on the right side of his jeans somewhat made Jack feel a bit uneasy.

"Oh, hi there buddy. How can I help you?" Bob spoke

"Uh… hi," Jack replied, still uneasy about the rope.

"Uh… do you need anything?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack suddenly remembered his reason for being here. "You're Bob, owner of this ranch right?"

"Yeah, and who should you be?" Bob asked.

"My name's Jack, I was told to come here to look for a job. Wallace told me that you could provide with me one,"

"Uh sure, but why?" Their conversation was getting nowhere. It started off in awkwardness in the first place. "I mean, if you want I do have some jobs for you to do, but… can you introduce more about yourself?"

"My name's Jack, like I've said. I'm a new comer to this town and supposedly the new owner the abandoned farm which belonged to my grandfather," to this part, Bob's eyes suddenly lit up, as If the guy had just realized something.

"Oh Jack!" he exclaimed, startling Jack. "Your father did tell me about your arrival. I was kinda busy so it somehow lost in my head," Bob was chuckling now, and to Jack, this was out-of-character; at least to Bob's appearance. "Anyway, come. I think I have some stuff for you to take care of right now,"

_Well, that was fast, _Jack thought. He followed the giant man to his ranch on the side.

It wasn't much of a huge field now that he had a closer look. It was just a small grass field, trapped by a low fence. The cattle consisted of a few number of horses, less than five cows and two calves. The barn on the side was hidden away by a large stack of hays, which had been left dried for some time now. Jack turned back to Bob, who had just ascended out from the barn. He handed him something.

"Use this brush here to brush them, the animals like it," he said with a huge grin and handed Jack a small milker. "You know how to use this right? I just heard from your dad that you should know how to one of these things,"

"I… think so," he received the device hesitatingly. To be frank, he had only seen how it was used but never exactly used the weird apparatus before.

"It's easy, all you have to do is put their udders in here and start squeezing. It should come out with milk," he smiled then looked of his watch. "Nuts, I have no time left. Now I've got some stuff to take care of. If you don't understand anything, just ask Gwen," Bob looked around. "Hm, she's not here at the moment, but she should be around. Good luck!" He left shortly afterward.

Holding the old, worn out tools in his hands, Jack stared at the cattle. One of them let out a bored moo while one of the bucks nickered, seeming to be entertained by Jack.

"Damn my life…" Jack murmured, and proceeded to do his assigned duty.

* * *

**_Chapter 4 - End_**

* * *

Surprisingly, I find this fic more fun to write than my other fics, though I have one confession to make: I have never once in my life finished a single Harvest moon game. The furthest I have ever gone into the game was in the Summer of year 3 on Harvest: Back to Nature. For this game though, I haven;t even finished the first year! I've read somewhere before, it says: "Write about what you don't know, not what you know." I guess that could be the reason.

About 1,000 words on the next chapter, should be done in any moment... or days... Stay tuned!

And oh, for whoever are following this fic (Symphonic Fantasia is one), many thanks to you guys!


	5. Relax, watch the temper

It took Jack the whole morning to plan out how to brush these animals without obtaining a kick to the stomach. The cows were simple enough; since they were slow, plus the fact that they were friendly animals, so the task became many times easier. But the horses was a different story. They acknowledged that Jack was a stranger, and maybe also his intention of doing this not for them but for the money. They fled whenever he got a chance to approach them. If he was unlucky, the would intimidate him by lifting one of their rear leg up slightly, as if to warn him about the blow they were about to deliver. Eventually, Jack got every single one of them brushed, although they didn't enjoy it like Bob said they would.

"Now to the milking part." He gnarled as he said this. Holding the odd device in his hand, Jack approached one of the cows chewing on their food uninterestingly. No matter how he did the task like Bob had told him to, the milk was still reluctantly remained inside their mammalian owners. After another good hour of trying to 'decipher' the milker, he gave up and went to the barn and prepared the food for the cattle and the chickens.

Oh how mad and furious he was. He was spitting profanities like he had never done it before. The inside of the barn was filled with the smell of fecal matter. The bad odor inundated his nose, hindering Jack's best try at putting the hay down to each of the stations. The chickens were no less irritating. They were in the state of chaos when he refilled their cups with corns, as if they were preventing him from doing it. Either they were panicked at the strange figure, or they were just annoying him.

He slammed the door shut behind him with force and was glad that he was finally able to get out. His head was burning with anger and he could feel a vein in his head was about to pop. He kicked the door, shouting something through his wrath at the animals then proceeded to his regular cussing at his life, and the world. He was supposed to be in his comfort zone, in his house, relaxing on his couch on another lazy Tuesday of unemployment. But thanks to his oh-so-great father, he was stuck in this middle of nowhere. Jack picked the brush off from the ground and threw it at the chicken coop's entrance.

"Try not to break the door, or someone will have to fix it." A feminine voice spoke from behind, catching his attention.

"What do you want?" He spoke with a hiss, which sent a mocking grin to the woman's face. "I'm busy."

"From this standpoint, all I've seen was just some dumbass running around with a brush." He could not see her clearly, since she was far away, leaning against the house. Unbeknownst to Jack, this mysterious girl had been spying on him when he started doing his wacky job. "And who would milk a cow like that? Are you trying to pull a rope or something?"

He was on the edge now. He only needed somebody to pull the plug to unleash all of his blood-boiling temper. This woman was just the right person for that. Jack stomped across the dirt path and approached her with no regards to his now wild expression. Once he was inches away from the girl, he stood tall, looming over her, lifting his chin in provocation.

"Temper now, are we?" She remained her indifferent manner, adding an aura of confidence around her, which only ticked Jack off even more.

"Who are you?" Jack spoke grimly under his voice.

"I could ask you the same thing." Her arms folded across her chest, appearing to be shaken a little, but the mocking grin was still stubbornly running across her lips.

"Look, I don't have the time to argue with you here. Either you go away and annoy someone else or can it."

"From what I can tell, you're not from around here. Furthermore, you're on someone's property, not yours. You should be the one to go away," She flipped her golden, ponytail style hair. "Besides, you're in my personal space, better back away, or something unpleasant will happen."

Jack grunted. He knew he was not going to win this fight regardless of what he would do. He slowly backed down. "Okay, right now I'm helping that Bob guy as a job, so please, don't go and report to the police or anything like that. I'm just working here."

"So I have heard," she said. "You know, word of advice, don't treat the animals that way. Be gentle with them and they will most likely to obey you."

He went back to the cows and on his another attempt, Jack began milking them. He gathered his focus to the task, praying for the cows to finally release their precious 'mineral'. As he was working, he stole a few glances at the girl clandestinely. She was resting on the fence now, eying at Jack every so often, but mostly, her attention lay on a certain horse in the corner. Her feet dangling above the ground, swinging back and forth playfully as her hands held a strong grip on the fence to keep her balance. Her golden hair flew along with the occasional wind slightly, and her crimson eyes shone under the light of the sun setting behind the horizon. She was a pretty girl now that Jack had a better look, though not that kind of staggering beauty of the girls he had seen in the city. She had this sense of the lovely look of the countryside.

_You know she's just pissed you off, right? _It was until his brain told him that, Jack turned back to his job. With another good squeeze and pull, the cool white liquid spurted out, startling both Jack and the cow. The cool milk leaked through his fingers, triumphant flooded him as Jack saw it as reward he deserved.

"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" The girl remarked jokingly. She bounced off the fence, dusting her pants before deciding to head back to the house. "Go in and meet me when you're done with the rest of the cattle."

* * *

He managed to finish the job quicker than he had planned, although the sun was nearly gone from view. After he had put the bottles of milk in the barn like Bob had instructed him to, he made his way to the house like the girl had told.

She was standing behind the counter, counting some money that eventually would be Jack's payment for the day. She slid the money across the wooden surface, a smile lit on the corner of her lips, which put an awkward one on Jack's in return.

"Thanks," Jack said.

"You're that guy from the city, right?" She spoke. "Living on the abandoned farm, I assume?"

"Yes, and yes." His brow rose as he said this. He was wondering why this girl already knew about his circumstances.

"This is a small town, people know people," she chuckled. "How are things on the farm so far?"

"I just came here yesterday," he replied curtly. "Not much to do on it."

"Well, if you ever have to buy an animal, we, or I should say, Bob does sell them over here. Just come and say the word,"

"Yeah, I will." He lied. He knew he wasn't going to attend the farm as his ignorance was too tough. Besides, what there for him to do anyway? He could barely milk the cows, let alone tending the crops.

* * *

When he returned, darkness once again covered the area. The three sprites had disappeared, perhaps went back to their place. As Jack locked the door behind him, he took off his hat and boots and set them in a corner. He turned on the TV, incurious to what was on, and turned it off a moment later. He proceeded to the bag of food he had bought from the local grocery store. He took out a homemade sandwich and some berries the Latin owner gave him as a welcome gift and started eating them. Afterward, he showered and plopped on the uncomfortable bed.

For the longest time in his life, sleep was never so desirable.

* * *

**_Chapter 5 - End_**

* * *

It's done! Yay! Reviews are always helpful, especially when they are criticisms.


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